Double Seduction
by Licuma Lome
Summary: Celaene Sinistra, while in a drunken game of truth or dare, has been condemned to seduce Severus Snape... but there's a twist that will make things a bit more complicated...
1. In Which the Dare is Made

Ah, it's been so long! Well, it feels like it, anyway. Snape/Sinistra! One of my favorite ships!I hope ya like it. If you haven't ever read anything by me, I just want to let you know that the parts in italics are Snape's point of view and everything else is Sinistra's.

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**Chapter One: In Which the Dare is Made**

"Okay," said Minerva, swallowing the firewhiskey. "Celaene, truth or dare?"

Celaene hiccupped slightly and giggled out the word, "Dare." She and several other female professors at Hogwarts were playing their favorite game, but this time, they were playing it with the interesting addition of alcohol.

"I dare you to…" McGonagall thought about it for a long moment. Then a broad smile spread over her usually stern face. "I dare you to—" she hiccupped, "—sleep with Snape."

"What?"

"I said, 'I dare you to sleep with Snape'," she repeated.

Celaene frowned. "_Snape_? Oh, come on, Min… Min…erva…" she struggled. "You know he's just my f-friend_…_"

Pomona Sprout rolled her eyes. "Yeah, right, Sinistra. We all know you can't get enough of him…" Her voice was slurred with drink and her eyes were unfocused.

"N-no!" Celaene insisted unconvincingly. "_Just_ because I dreamed about him _once—_"

"Five times," muttered Victoria Vector from the corner, making Celaene flush.

"—doesn't mean I'm in love with… with… him," she finished.

"But," said McGonagall loudly, calling attention back to herself, "you can't _just_ sleep with Snape. You have to make _him_ start it."

Celaene shook her head but seized the bottle and poured herself a shot. She drank it and turned to Minerva in retaliation. "Minerva, truth or dare?"

"T-truth," she said finally.

"I dare you to—"

"Truth," she repeated more firmly.

"Coward," muttered Celaene. "Okay… Then t-tell us what happened on a certain night three months ago with a certain Filius Flitwick?"

Minerva turned instantly scarlet. "Nothing."

"Nothing?" Celaene insisted. "Truth, Minerva."

"We… had a drink," she mumbled. "And… well…"

They all laughed. "Come on…" wheedled Sprout. "Detail, Minerva."

"Yeah… At least tell us if he's good…" said Victoria, reaching out for the bottle to take her turn. "Is he?"

"Well… well, yes, if you must know. But I suspect it was a charm," she added in a lower voice. The other professors roared with laughter as Victoria had her shot of whiskey and looked, with slightly unfocused eyes, at Celaene. "Celaene, truth or dare?"

"Again?" complained the Astronomy teacher. "Um… truth."

"What do you _really_ think of Snape?"

"Well…" Celaene didn't know how best to answer. "I—don't—" she stammered.

"Go on…" said the quiet Muggle Studies teacher insistently.

"Well, okay, so I _don't_ think of Snape as just a friend," she burst out. "But I don't _love_ him. It's more of a vaguely related… um…"

"Desire," interrupted Victoria.

"Not _just_ desire," said Celaene, forgetting her earlier denials. "I… well, I sort of like him. And once we _did_ get kind of close and I liked that, but… but I d-don't—"

"Keep going, Sinistra," insisted Pomona with a wicked smile. "Tell us how much you _want_ him…"

Celaene hiccupped, then finally stood up, faced the room full of professors, and announced in slurred but understandable speech, "I want Snape," before swaying and passing out into a drunken sleep.

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_Severus instantly regretted walking into the staffroom. There they were, nearly all of the female professors in Hogwarts, sitting around a large table, all of them drunk. Several empty bottles of Ogden's Old Firewhiskey lay around their feet. It was actually a rather amusing sight… Celaene Sinistra was leaning on the table, protesting something that Victoria Vector (draped over an old armchair) had told her. Minerva McGonagall, the usually collected Transfiguration witch, was giggling in the corner and drinking straight from a half-empty bottle that she was apparently sharing with Eleanor Browning, the Muggle Studies teacher. Pomona Sprout was sharing a couch with Poppy Pomfrey, who had already passed out. As Snape stood in the doorway watching them at their ridiculous game, Sinistra stood up and faced the room at large and announced, to loud applause and giggles, "I want Snape." It was perhaps lucky that she passed out then and did not see him turn around and stalk back out in disgust._

_He should have known, really. The way they tormented each other every day of their lives was hardly normal of two people. She was really the only friend he had at Hogwarts, though she was not particularly social. It had been a bit of a shock to see her sitting voluntarily with five other people at a time. No, not social at all. He would see her perhaps once or twice a week and she was the only person he would really joke around with at all—if it could even be called that. But whether it was friendly teasing when they were on speaking terms or withering insults when they were angry with each other—a common occurrence—she was _only_ his friend, as far as he knew… though over the years he had felt an increasing attachment to her that he tried to ignore._

_But she had just said she wanted him… and was that the drink talking or was it her? Well, it didn't matter. He would not risk losing his only friend for some ridiculous, shortsighted desire of hers. She could control herself—at least her body, if not her temper. She was, after all, not Bellatrix Lestrange, though there were some similarities between the two. Sinistra was a fairly attractive woman with the same black hair and dark features, though it was a cleaner beauty than Bella's, and without the heavily-lidded eyes and malicious smile. And Sinistra was shorter with the softer and more rounded, curvy figure that was typical of witches from the ancient House Sinistra. _

_Severus shook his head and walked back down to his dungeons and back to his potions. He'd worry about it in the morning, but at the moment, he had to grade some no doubt abysmally written essays by his third-year Gryffindor class.

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_

"So, Victoria, what happened after I passed out last night?" asked Celaene casually over breakfast the next morning.

"Well," said Vector, "we sort of fell apart after someone walked in on our party…"

"Oh? Who was that?" Sinistra took a bite of oatmeal.

"Er… Snape, actually. You do remember your dare, right?"

Sinistra rolled her eyes. "Yes, yes, of course. And I do fully intend follow through with it, thank-you-very-much. When'd he come in?"

Vector looked away. After several moments, she said, "Actually, just before you passed out."

Celaene choked on her oatmeal. "Please tell me he didn't hear me say—"

"He did," she assured Sinistra cheerfully.

"Oh, God…" Celaene pushed her bowl away and stood up. "I better go talk to him, don't you think?"

"Actually, it might be safer to stay away from him at the moment. He's having a rather bad morning… took twenty points from Gryffindor already because some first year glanced at him. Then he cursed Peeves halfway into oblivion and locked himself in his office."

"Hmm… Then I should definitely go see him. I'll see you at break if I'm still alive." The Astronomy professor walked quietly out of the Great Hall and crossed the Entrance Hall into the dungeons. Just as she opened the door to the stairs, a loud curse drifted up from below. _Yes, he definitely heard me last night,_ she thought gloomily.

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Thanks for reading. More will be here shortly. Please review... 


	2. In Which She is Threatened Repeatedly

Okay, it's depressingly short, and I'm very sorry about that. (Licuma Lome feels a bit guilty for a moment.) But I do hope you like it. Please review when you're done...**

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**Chapter Two: In Which Our Heroine is Threatened Repeatedly**

Celaene knocked three times on the door to the dungeon. There was no reply. She tried again, and, again, Snape didn't answer. Finally, the Astronomy professor hammered on the door until it started shaking and she heard the familiar, deep voice call out, "Enter, damn it!"

She walked in to find him sitting at his desk, grading papers. They were covered in angry, stinging comments written in Severus's tidy but cramped handwriting. He glanced up at her and his scowl deepened. "Go away, right now, Sinistra. I am in no mood to be seduced."

"Are you ever?" she asked lightly, perching on the edge of his desk and reading over his shoulder. "'A four-year-old Muggle could have explained this as well'," she read. "Nice, Snape. And on a _Ravenclaw_ paper, as well! You _must_ be angry. What happened?"

Snape glared at her but didn't answer.

Celaene sighed. "Well, as you so clearly want to be alone, I'll leave… See you at lunch, Severus…" She slid off of the desk, kissed the top of his head, and walked to the door.

Snape, startled, touched his head where she'd kissed him, then, sneering, he drew his wand and hexed her.

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_Sinistra lay on the floor, paralyzed and staring up at him, all laughter gone from her pale face. "Never do it again, Sinistra," he hissed. "Do you remember the spell that was, quite recently, I think, banned by the Ministry of Magic because it had been used to kill so many people? 'Sectumsempra'?" The Astronomy witch couldn't reply but the alarm in her eyes was quite enough. "Yes," he drawled. "Yes, I invented that one, you know, in my fifth year… I'm quite good at it by now. Please keep that in mind." With another casual flick of his wand, he let her up. Sinistra sprang to her feet and, with one mildly frightened glance back into his sneering face, she left the room, slamming the door behind her._

_Severus sat down again and looked back down at the papers. They were an insult to the subject. He scrawled a large, black "T" at the top of a Hufflepuff paper and threw down his quill. It was time for his next class, anyway, and Potter was in it. A good chance to relieve some stress…

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_

"So, Sinistra, how's Snape?" asked Minerva pointedly. They had all congregated in the staffroom again, late in the day. Severus had refrained from speaking to or looking at Celaene all day and it had amused all of them except her.

"As well as Flitwick, McGonagall," Celaene snapped. Then she sighed and sank down in a chair near the stern-looking Transfiguration teacher. "He says, 'I'm in no mood to be seduced,' and I believe him. He hexed me and threatened me with 'Sectumsempra'."

"Oh, the violent ones are always more fun," said Professor Sprout with a wicked smile. "We expect a full report when you've managed to have him… What did you do to provoke such an attack?"

Celaene rolled her eyes. "Kissed the top of his head. And I hate to say it, but I somehow don't think it's going to happen."

"It's got to," said Eleanor, looking up from a book about Muggle telephones. "If it doesn't, Minerva gets to tell Dumbledore about a incident in Hogsmeade…"

Sinistra turned bright pink. "No," she gasped, wheeling around to face McGonagall. "You _wouldn't_!"

"Well," replied the older woman crisply, "it _is_ banned at Hogwarts."

"Okay! Alright! I'll do it! If it will make you _all_ shut up, I'll fuck the poor bastard," exploded Sinistra. "And if he's standing in the doorway right now…"

"Dear, dear," wheezed an aged voice passing the doorway. The professors whirled around to see Professor Binns floating by the staffroom door looking alarmed. "Young people these days… Such language…" he mumbled.

That relieved the tension in the room a bit as several of the professors laughed. After several more seconds, McGonagall said, with an air of finality, "Well, get it done, Cella. You've got a month, and after that, Dumbledore finds out about _that night_." Minerva strode out of the room, leaving Celaene grimacing both at the threat and the hated nickname.

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(Licuma Lome points hopefully at the "Submit Review" button.)


	3. In Which a Spell Goes Wrong

This one's a bit longer than the last two. (Licuma Lome feels a bit better.) Poor Severus... I feel so bad for him... But I do hope you enjoy this chapter and please review!**

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**Chapter Three: In Which a Spell Goes Wrong**

The annual Hogwarts Staff Christmas Party was always an amusing affair. There would be music and dancing, food and drinking, and the traditional contest for whoever could invent the best spell in less than half an hour. Last year, Professor Sinistra had created a spell that, rather than doing what it was intended for, conjured half a moldy sock. Snape had taunted her about it for three weeks after having won the contest with a spell that had forced Peeves to float around the school upside-down and backwards, struck dumb, for two days. She was not looking forward to being reminded of it again this year.

Celaene and Victoria turned up together ten minutes early to find the house-elves just finishing the decorations and setting out piles of crackers. The room was in the dungeons, but, for once, brightly lit and cheerfully decorated with holly and mistletoe. It was right beside Snape's dungeons, and, after a few minutes, they heard his voice shouting, "No! No bloody decorations!" and a squeaky house-elf voice reply, terrified, "Dobby begs sir to forgive poor Dobby, sir! Dobby will not do it again, sir!"

Sinistra chuckled as the Potions Master swept into the room. "What are you laughing about, Celaene?" he snapped.

"Don't let Hermione Granger hear you treating house-elves like that, Severus," she said. "Hasn't she tried to recruit you for S. P. E. W. yet?"

"Oh, yes… Bloody know-it-all came around last week with her badges and collecting tin. She wouldn't shut up until I took thirty points from Gryffindor for… what did I call it? Oh, yes—'undermining staff relations.' What tripe."

Sinistra laughed. "So, Snape, what kind of spell are you going to make this year?"

"I haven't given it any thought," he said coldly. "I can't believe Dumbledore forces me to attend this every year."

"Forces you? Why don't you just threaten him with home-made spells like you do to me?" It had been almost three weeks since that incident. Celaene had thirteen days left to seduce Severus into seducing her.

"Dumbledore is not as fun to threaten," he replied wickedly. "You should have seen yourself, Sinistra, petrified on the floor… Very satisfactory."

The Astronomy professor rolled her eyes but was spared having to answer by Dumbledore bouncing in and greeting them all, "Merry Christmas!"

Snape glared witheringly at Dumbledore's back but stomped over and pulled the other end of the wizard cracker that was offered. It let out a crack like a whip and several butterflies flew out along with a large bottle of firewhiskey, some Chocolate Cauldrons, and a bright red thong.

Dumbledore offered Snape the Chocolate Cauldrons and firewhiskey, but pocketed the thong. Celaene raised an eyebrow. "A thong? What do you suppose he'll do with that, Severus?"

"I'm hardly curious," replied the Potions Master disgustedly. He retreated to a corner and opened the bottle of firewhiskey after he Vanished the Chocolate Cauldrons. Sinistra walked over to the Headmaster.

"Albus, are we having our annual contest this year?"

"Of course, Celaene! It's the high point of Christmas," replied the Headmaster. "And I will be offering as a prize this year one week free of night duty."

"No roaming the corridors after dark? Wow, Headmaster, you are so generous," said Sinistra, impressed. Last year's prize had been a pair of woolen socks.

Twenty minutes later, the other professors had arrived and Dumbledore called them to order. "Now that we are all assembled and have had plenty of a chance to drink firewhiskey and elf-made wine, it's time for the annual spellmaking contest. You have thirty minutes starting…now."

Celaene stared miserably at her wand. She never had any good ideas. Snape, predictably, had a quill and some parchment and was no doubt already working on the wording. As she stared at Severus bent over his paper, she realized that this could be the perfect way to seduce Snape into seducing her…

Ten minutes passed in perfect silence before there was a loud bang like a gunshot and everyone looked around to see Severus sitting in a pile of blue frosting looking slightly murderous. "My apologies," he muttered. "Wrong words. My Latin is not wonderful."

Sinistra laughed with the rest of the teachers as Severus Vanished the frosting and continued with his spell, looking sour.

"What's the Latin word for 'seduce'?" she murmured to herself.

"_Seducere_," Victoria answered from beside her. "Why do you need that for your spell?"

"Snape," she answered shortly. Vector smirked and went back to her own spell.

"Time is up," said Dumbledore in his deep, ringing voice. "We'll go in alphabetical order… Filius, would you start, please?" Flitwick flicked his wand and they all watched, bemused, as a load of dark smoke poured from the tip and then, with a loud sucking noise like a plug being pulled from a drain, something black and foul-smelling flopped out.

"What was that supposed to be, Flitwick?" asked Albus politely.

"It was intended to produce a spell to induce dizziness and a tendency to use the Muggle toy, those hula-hoops," said the tiny Charms professor unblushingly.

"Hmm… I'll give it a four," the Headmaster said thoughtfully. "Remus?"

"I'm afraid that the only spell I'd like to create is quite impossible," he said quietly.

Dumbledore nodded and uncharacteristically said nothing but, "Minerva, you next." The Transfiguration flicked her wand and the glass of wine she was holding twirled around several times before forming a small tornado in the palm of her hand and spun across the room, sweeping up every staff member's wand and holding them tightly. Celaene began to protest—her wand had belonged to every witch in her family for twelve thousand years before her—but then she watched as it turned into a lollipop. The tornado redistributed the lollipops. Snape looked furious and Sprout was ripping hair absently out of her scalp. "Give me my wand back, Minerva," he said in a voice of quiet anger.

"Lick it," she said simply. He stared at her incredulously. Then, slowly, he licked the black lollipop that had been his wand. It melted back into a thin strip of wood.

"Very good, Minerva," said Dumbledore delightedly. "I'll give that an eight."

McGonagall smiled. "Thank you, Headmaster."

Sinistra went next. She twirled her wand at Snape and murmured, "_Seducerio_!" Snape was thrown off his feet by the force of her spell. Dumbledore leapt up and ran to the fallen Potions Master. "Severus?" he asked, raising Snape's eyelid gently. Snape giggled slightly and sat up.

"Sn… Snape?" asked Celaene uncertainly.

"Hi, Celaene," he said with a bright smile.

"Hi… Severus…" she said nervously.

"You look very pretty tonight," he giggled.

"_Okay_, that's enough," said Sprout. She pulled out her wand, flicked it and muttered, "_Finite incantatum_," and Snape blinked and stood back up.

"Celaene Sinistra," he spat, "I am going to slaughter you."

"I'm sorry," she squeaked.

"I thought the rules stated that no spell could be tried on a person?" Severus asked Dumbledore, who nodded.

"I'm afraid I'll have to give you a zero."

"Worse even than Trelawney, Celaene," said Severus with a malign smile. "I'm very surprised…"

Albus coughed slightly. "It's your turn, Severus. And if you hex Celaene, I'm afraid you'll be disqualified."

Severus ignored him and rolled up his sleeves, picking his wand up off the table. It was the exact opposite of Celaene's—black where hers was white, sixteen inches where hers was only twelve. His contained a dragon heartstring and hers a phoenix tail feather. He gave it a long, languid wave, rather like cracking a whip, but very slowly, and a mass of soft, white steam came out and shaped itself into the Dark Mark. Minerva jumped to her feet, but Dumbledore shot her a warning look and she sat back down slowly, her eyes fixed on the Mark. Snape did not blink but kept his eyes focused on the mass of fog. The snake protruding from the skull's mouth writhed and twisted, hissing, before it twisted back on itself… and tied itself in a knot. The snake solidified, fell to the floor with a dull thump, and vanished. The skull cracked apart and was reduced to a small pile of dust on the floor. Severus closed his eyes and lowered his wand. He was shaking.

A long silence, louder than any Celaene had ever heard, filled the room until Dumbledore broke it, saying gravely, "Severus?"

Snape looked up, his long dark hair—so many called it greasy but now it looked silky and shiny—parting and falling out of his face. "Headmaster."

"You just created a spell that destroyed the Dark Mark."

"Yes, Headmaster."

"I'll give you… a ten."

The stunned silence broke into grudging applause—Snape _always_ won. Dumbledore turned to Pomona Sprout. "It's your turn."

"What's the point?" she asked despairingly. "Snape's already won."

Severus bowed. "I'm leaving, Headmaster."

Dumbledore sighed. "If you must, Snape."

He swept out of the room like a bat and they all heard him enter his dungeons a few doors down.

"Headmaster, I think I'll leave, too, if you don't mind," said Celaene tentatively. "I'm a bit tired."

"Yes, go ahead, Celaene," Albus said with a slight smile that Sinistra found altogether too knowing, even for Dumbledore.

Feeling slightly disconcerted, Celaene slipped out of the dungeon and down the long, cool corridor, her footsteps clicking sharply against the heavy grey stone. Snape was given almost total rule of this part of the castle as none of the other teachers chose to hold classes or live all the way down in the dungeons. He kept it cool and tidy, with cold blue flames burning in the torches, but otherwise completely neglected all but the small chambers he lived and worked in.

Sinistra knocked hesitantly on the door to the dungeon room Severus lived in.

"What the hell do you want, Albus?" Snape snapped irritably. "You _just bloody told me_ I could leave!"

"I didn't realize I looked so much like that raving lunatic, Severus," Celaene fired back. "Honestly, Snape, I'm offended."

"Oh, it's you, Celaene," said Severus disdainfully as he opened the door a crack. She could see in the narrow sliver of himself that he let show through the door that he was halfway out of his clothes. She pushed the door open a bit wider. He had a bottle of firewhiskey in one hand and his wand in the other.

"Yes," she replied shortly. "And I sincerely hope you're not planning on drinking that," she added, motioning to the bottle.

"I am, as a matter of fact. What of it?"

"You're so unpleasant when you're drunk."

"No more so than you," he muttered, taking a long drink straight from the bottle and grimacing as it burned his throat. "'I want Snape'," he quoted, mimicking her voice. "I refuse to let you seduce me."

"Ah, but the wonderful bit is, Snape, that you don't have to. You have to let me seduce you into seducing me," she said, stepping inside without invitation and closing the heavy door behind her.

"And it won't happen!" he shouted. "No matter what half-witted spell you invent."

"Or how much you drink?" she asked blandly.

Snape hesitated, then put the bottle down, closing it with a flick of his wand.

"Ah!" she exclaimed in delight. "I _knew_ I could make you stop drinking."

The next think Sinistra knew, she was out in the corridor again, covered in firewhiskey and her robes were smoking slightly.

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Licuma Lome: Just press the little lavender button... that's right... Yay!


	4. In Which Lemon Drops are Mistreated

Okay, another chapter! Thank you all very much for your reviews and I'm very glad you like the story so far. I had fun with this chapter... I hope you do, too.

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**Chapter Four: In Which Lemon Drops are Mistreated, Among Other Happenings**

Celaene woke up the next morning to see that the house-elves had decorated her tower and brought in a small pile of Christmas presents that were piled neatly at the foot of her bed. After a few minutes of trying to get back to sleep but failing because of the frustrating amount of sunlight streaming through her window, she sat up, put her glasses on, and walked around to them. The first was a small box from her sister Taygeta—a new lunarscope to replace the one she had broken the last time she'd had an argument with Snape. Technically, he had broken it, but she'd started the fight. There was one from Dumbledore (a box of lemon drops), one from Minerva, Victoria, and Pomona (a heavy book about the Andromeda galaxy that she'd wanted for years but could never afford—it had a note on the inside that read 'Twelve days left. Have fun.') and one from Severus. It was typically wrapped in plain parchment with no note of any sort. She opened it to see a much smaller book than the last. It was black with silver lettering on the side that read, "Astronomy and the Dark Arts: An Introduction". With a slight smile, she picked up both books to set them on her shelf when something small dropped out of the smaller volume. She caught it instinctively and held it up. It was a tiny vial of golden potion: Felix Felicis. He gave her a day's worth once every three years; never enough to be dangerous.

The Astronomy professor checked the clock by her bed and threw on a dark purple robe before stepping out of her tower with her wand in one hand, the vial in her pocket, and the black book in her other hand.

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_Severus was halfway through his breakfast and mostly ignoring Dumbledore, who was trying to start a conversation with him. The problem was, Snape had woken up with Dumbledore's bright red thong in his bed and there was no logical way that it could have gotten there. The Potions Master had long since decided that he was probably happier not knowing._

_"…And I do hope you like lemon drops," the headmaster was saying._

_He was saved from having to answer by Sinistra turning up. For once, he was pleased to see her. She had the book he had sent her in one of her hands. Severus was glad to see that; he was never really sure what to get her. She had sent him a copy of a rather rare book that he'd had his eye on for quite some time. _Thanatos Kai Pyr, _a book of dangerous potions ranging from love potions to poisons._

_"Thank you for the book, Severus. And the potion," she added quietly. "Merry Christmas."_

_He nodded stiffly. "Thank you for the potions book."_

_"You're welcome. I have in mind a use for the potion already," said Sinistra lightly._

_"Do you?" he asked. She would always tell him what she used it for; it was something of a tradition._

_"But I won't tell you and ruin the surprise," continued Celaene. "You'll probably be there, after all."_

_Snape didn't ask and Sinistra didn't offer elaboration.

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_

Christmas dinner passed without any great event of interest, though Trelawney came down for it, which was rare. When they were all done eating, Celaene followed Severus out of the hall and down to his dungeons. Halfway there, Snape stopped in his tracks and turned around.

"What are you doing, Sinistra?"

"Coming down with you," she said innocently. "Why not?"

"It's customary to ask or wait for invitation before going with someone to the place they live," he said icily.

"But you'd say no," said Celaene cheerfully, "so I don't bother."

"No."

"See?"

Severus sneered at her. "Go back to your tower, Celaene," he said coolly. "I do not wish to have my Christmas ruined because you want to seduce me."

She held her hands up as if in surrender, saying, "I won't. Why would I?"

He raised a narrow black eyebrow, saying, "Almost a month ago, if I must remind you, I made the mistake of walking in on a… shall we say… drinking party, during which I heard—"

"Oh, that," she said quickly, putting her hands down and crossing her fingers in her pocket. "The deadline ran out. It's over."

Severus smirked. "You can't lie to me, Sinistra."

Celaene sighed angrily. "God damn you and your Legilimency…"

"I'm sure He already has," said Snape, but he let her follow him down to his dungeons and she sat down on the edge of his bed, watching him as he pulled out the book she'd given him and sat down in a black armchair across from her. He looked almost appealing when he was reading and he always had. His black silky hair fell in loose curtains across his face and his pale hands seemed light and graceful as he turned the pages. She studied his profile; his narrow face was illuminated on one side by a tall candle while across the long, elegant arch of his nose, it was cast into deep shadow. After several minutes, he looked up. "Are you going to do anything but stare at me, Sinistra?"

She shook her head dreamily and stretched out across his bed with a yawn. "Can't you make this any easier for me?"

"No," he said firmly, and went back to his reading. Celaene considered him thoughtfully. This was what she had decided to use her Felix Felicis on… She only hoped it wouldn't be a waste.

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_Snape couldn't concentrate on his book while she insisted on staring at him. She had her eyes closed at the moment and looked quite asleep. He set the book aside and walked over to her, bending over his friend—she was his _friend_, he insisted to himself—until their noses nearly touched. Then he waited. Ten seconds later, she opened her eyes, jumped, and let out a short scream. "What the hell are you doing?" she gasped._

_He sat down on the edge of his bed next to her. "Wondering when you're going to get out of my bed so I can sleep in it," he said dryly._

_"Mmm," she said inarticulately. "You can sleep in it anyway."_

_"Out, Sinistra," he ordered._

_"No."_

_"Yes."_

_"No."_

_He leveled his wand at her forehead. "Now."_

_"You wouldn't dare."_

_"Don't test me," he said dangerously._

_"There isn't a spell that you could threaten me with that would make me get out of this bed," she said bravely._

_"I'm thinking of one, two words long, that would get rid of you without me having to get you out of my bed," he warned. "Now get out."_

_"Use it. I dare you."_

Avada_—" he began with no real intention to finish the spell, but it was enough._

_"Okay! I'm out!" Sinistra cried, leaping out of the bed. "I'll see you in the morning."_

_"Perhaps," he said with a slight menacing smile.

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_

She didn't think for a second that he would have actually finished the spell. No, not even Severus would kill her just for refusing to move. Voldemort—perhaps. But not Snape. Still, it was startling. Just one thought had penetrated Sinistra's numb shock at his near-fatal attack: _He's hot when he's angry._

_

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Thanks very much for reading! A new chapter very soon.


	5. In Which a Vampire Steps Forth

I'm sorry it's been longer than I thought it would be... (Very sorry!) Thank you so much for the lovely reviews. Rachel: Thanks so much-- I think the problem's fixed now. And I've stopped italicizing the Snape bits. Anyway, everybody please enjoy!

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**Chapter Five: In Which a "Vampire" Steps Forth**

"Three days left, Sinistra, before Dumbledore finds out about the Hogsmeade incident," Minerva reminded her at lunch a few days later with an uncharacteristically malicious smile.

"What incident?" Celaene asked irritably.

"The one where you got so thoroughly drunk that you shaggedthat man dressed as avam—" began Victoria, but Celaene interrupted her loudly.

"Okay, okay, _that_ one," she snapped. "I'm so sorry I asked."

"So am I," murmured Severus Snape, taking his seat beside Celaene. "Do you still need the sleeping potion?" he asked in a very quiet voice.

"Yes," she whispered back. "Haven't slept since last Thursday."

* * *

She looked like it, too. There were dark blackish-purple circles under her eyes and—according to her—she didn't know why she couldn't sleep. He felt almost sorry for her because he did have a shrewd idea of why she couldn't.

He was just unwilling to help the way she really needed it.

"There's no way I can teach tomorrow if I don't get any sleep tonight," she added, taking a half-hearted bite of chicken.

Severus nodded shortly. "I believe you. I'll bring it up to you this evening."

* * *

Celaene nodded wearily, stood up, swayed, and fell over. Snape glanced at her, sighed, and bent down to pick her up. "Sinistra, go to bed," he said impatiently.

"Only if you'll come with me," she said with a somewhat sad attempt at a smile.

"No," he said firmly, setting her back on her feet and letting go rather more quickly than he would normally have done. "You got yourself drunk and I have no intention of getting you out of this. You'll just have to let Dumbledore find out about the Hogsmeade incident. He'd probably find it funny, the barmy old codger. I do."

"How do you know about it?" asked Celaene, suddenly incredibly animated for a woman who had not slept for more than ten minutes at a time in four days.

"I was there," he said coolly.

"You were not," she said desperately, as though trying to persuade herself more than him.

"I was," he said, smirking. "You had that vampire so out of breath that he probably wouldn't have been able to tell the difference between blood and white wine." Celaene would have hit him—if she'd had the energy. "Now," he added impatiently. "You'll make yourself sick. Go to bed."

"I have classes to teach."

"In this state, you probably can't tell one end of a telescope from the other. Bed."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Do I have to hex you?"

"No."

"Sleep. Now," said Snape in the dangerous voice he reserved for particularly dim Gryffindor students.

"No, damn it. I'll go to sleep tonight when I've got the potion. There's no way I'll be able to sleep without it."

Snape surveyed her for several moments before muttering under his breath, "Addict," and walking swiftly away.

Sinistra glared after him for a few seconds before walking slowly to the Astronomy tower to prepare for her N. E. W. T. Astronomy class.

_

* * *

_

Snape threw the potion together with hardly a thought. It was second nature to him now. For years after he'd left the Dark Lord's service, he'd been dependent on it to get a night's rest. It bubbled and turned a pleasant, peaceful shade of purple. After a second's hesitation, he added a tiny splash of vanilla. If she wasn't one of the few cases of intolerance, it would give her a healthy amount of dream sleep. If she was, they'd be in for a very long night.

* * *

A sharp rap on her door made Celaene jump. She turned around and opened the door before sinking back down into her chair. She was so tired…

Severus stood before her holding out a cup of potion. It was as if she were dying of thirst and he'd given her water just in time. As if she were freezing and he'd given her fire. She reached out for it and he watched her drink it, saying sternly, "Drink it all, Celaene. Yes, I _know _it tastes like owl droppings. Drink it anyway." She made a face but swallowed it. Then she frowned.

"What did you put in this, Snape? It tastes different."

"Vanilla. To help you dream. Now get in bed because you'll be asleep in twenty seconds and I will not carry you into it."

She stood up and made it halfway across the room before tripping and stumbling the rest of the way and landing halfway on her bed. After a moment of half-amusement, Snape sighed and nudged her onto it. "Goodnight," he murmured in his deep, silky voice.

"Good…night… Severus," she managed through a yawn. Celaene drifted off, her eyes finally closing and her thought slipping away until she landed again and opened her eyes.

It seemed like very little time had passed and Severus was still standing over her bed with his condescending half-smile and an empty crystal goblet. It caught the last light from the sinking sun and threw it across the Astronomy Professor's sheets, but he dropped it and it broke on the stone floor. Then Snape sat down on the edge of her bed and leaned over her. "You should go to sleep," he said quietly, his face only an inch away from hers. "And so should I."

"Goodnight," she murmured. "Sleep well in your cold, miserable dungeons."

"I'm not going to my dungeons," he corrected gently in the same soft voice.

"Then…" but Sinistra didn't have to ask. She was spared the trouble by the Potions Master's lips touching hers and silencing her. "Oh," she finished weakly when he stopped. Celaene stretched and smiled at him. He smiled back, but it wasn't a happy smile… it was far too dark for that. Much more intense. "You didn't have to stop," Sinistra added.

"I know," he hissed, and his voice was like fire burning her mind but she didn't want it to stop. She wanted it to go on burning until she couldn't think anymore… until she didn't have to think because he would do it for her. He had always known what she was thinking and what she wanted and what she needed. And now she needed him and he knew.

Snape's tongue traced an intricate pattern across her collarbone and down to her chest and Celaene shivered when his hands joined the game. "Severus," she murmured. "Severus, please…" Sinistra was fading in and out of herself, like a bad radio. She fell out again and once again landed, but now she was alone, her only company a clock that read "12:32—Get Out of Bed Because You're Supposed to be Teaching." Snape was not there.

After several long moments, Celaene understood that she had slept through the night and into the next afternoon. "Shit," she swore, as much about losing the dream as about being so late. Sinistra rolled out of bed and threw on a set of black and silver robes, dragged a brush through her hair, and, snatching her wand, stumbled out the door and down to lunch.

_

* * *

_

Celaene looked messy and frustrated and angry as hell at him, but she did look well-rested. She threw herself into a chair beside him and said accusingly, "You made me sleep for eighteen hours, Snape. I asked for a decent night's rest. That was all. Shut up," she added, whipping around and addressing Sprout, who had mumbled, "Decent night's rest, eh?" Severus barely glanced at her.

"You needed the sleep," he said simply.

"I hate you."

"Oh really?" he asked very quietly, staring straight into her brown eyes and seeing in them, floating lazily to the surface of her mind, the memory of a very recent dream. Sinistra flushed and pushed him out of her thoughts. He laughed and she raised her wand menacingly.

"Celaene," said Dumbledore's voice warningly. "If you are going to curse Professor Snape in front of the students, I am afraid I will have to dismiss you."

"Sorry, Albus," she said, lowering her wand a little wistfully.

Snape went back to his lunch. She was quite nice-looking when she was frustrated with him.

* * *

There were two nights left for her to seduce him. And then Dumbledore would find out and she would lose her job. She'd just have to grit her teeth and do it… there was simply nothing else to be done about it. So, at nine-thirty, when all of the students would be in their dormitories or in detention for not being there, she made herself more than presentable and slipped quietly through the school and into the dungeons. The torch-lit hallways were full of long, velvety shadows and thick layers of dust and neglect. She lit her wand to illuminate room numbers until she found the one she wanted: 138 E. Celaene knocked and waited for an answer.

The door opened a few inches and Snape recognized her after a second or two. He let her inside and she looked him over. There was a glass of elf-made wine in one hand and the book, Thanatos Kai Pyr, in the other, and while he was not yet drunk, he was pleasantly hazy and looked, in the cool light of the long black candles in the room, almost like a shadow himself. He looked her over and then offered her a chair. She sat. He sat and offered her a drink. She drank.

"It's good," she said slowly, referring to the wine.

He glanced up from his book. "Yes," was all he said before returning to the dusty pages. After several more long minutes, she said in a contemplative voice, "You know, I still can't believe you were there."

"Where?" His voice was so low that she could have easily thought she imagined it.

"In Hogsmeade. That night."

"I was there."

"I didn't see you."

"Yes, you did," he stated very firmly. "You definitely saw me."

"You weren't there," she said, nearly hopefully, but the look in his black eyes was enough to say without a doubt that he had been. Then he said the four words that she should have known all along.

"I was the vampire."

* * *

I really hope you liked it! The next chapter will probably be the last or close to the last.


	6. In Which Our Heroine Suffers

It's been a really long time, I know... And I am very sorry. Apologies. But I do hope you like this chapter. (sob) Poor Celaene!

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**Chapter Six: In Which Our Heroine Suffers a Severe Disappointment**

Sinistra dropped her glass and stared at him. "Severus… For the love of… Why the hell… you didn't ever tell me!"

He marked his place carefully in his book and placed it on a table next to him. "No, I didn't. Do you want to know why, Sinistra?"

"Yes! I do want to know why you had sex with me and didn't tell me!"

"Because… it's against Hogwarts rules," he said with an evil smirk. "And I don't want to lose my job."

"You value your job more than me?" she demanded.

"My work is very important to me, Sinistra." His black eyes twinkled slightly.

"I don't know what to say," Celaene said, feeling suddenly empty and slightly cold. "You knew we slept together in Hogsmeade while we were drunk and you didn't tell me. For Merlin's sake, Severus, I've still got scars from that incident and your magically produced fangs…"

"What scars?" He asked lazily. "I don't see any scars. I'm not actually a vampire."

"Well, you wouldn't see any," she muttered. "They're all covered as long as I dress myself decently."

"I don't remember biting you at all," he said stubbornly.

"Would you like me to remind you?" she asked, her voice rising suddenly. Celaene unbuttoned the neck of her black robes, thinking of one particularly noticeable scar that she didn't know how he could forget having made. It had taken hours to stop bleeding.

* * *

"I've got a question for you, Severus," she interrupted. "Why do you always call me by my surname?"

"Why does it matter what I call you?" he returned, rising to his feet.

"Why don't you just stop pretending you don't care?" she shouted.

"Why don't you understand that I don't care?" Snape snapped.

Sinistra seemed to deflate when he said that. She bit her lip and looked down at the crystal shards at her feet that had once been her glass. "You don't?" she asked timidly.

"No," he lied coldly.

"Not… at all?"

He didn't answer her, but returned to his seat and motioned for her to do the same. She sat slowly, still looking hurt. "Perhaps…" he said slowly. "Perhaps I do care, Sinistra, but I do have some control, unlike you."

"Don't," she said quietly but very firmly, "call me Sinistra."

"Celaene," he corrected. "Why is this so important to you? You have never been the type to take a game of truth or dare this seriously."

"I don't want Dumbledore to find out about Hogsmeade," she said slowly.

"That's not it."

"Because—I—" the small, dark witch took a deep breath. "I said it before I passed out."

"Say it again," he said coldly. "I will not do this for you."

"Because I want you," she said, nearly inaudibly. He felt a slight twist in the pit of his stomach and raised an eyebrow.

"Louder, Sin—Celaene."

"Because I want you," she repeated, meeting his eyes.

He looked into her black eyes and was amazed to see a faint hope. After everything he had said, she still looked that hopeful. And if he was honest with himself, his objections were feeble at best. But he couldn't just let her get away with this…

"Severus?" she was asking carefully. He considered her for a moment longer, tracing a thin, pale finger down the side of his face.

"Not tonight, Celaene," he told her nearly gently. "Go to bed. Merlin knows you need the rest."

"Can't sleep without you, Snape," she said, blinking. Her voice shook slightly but returned to normal and she looked away from him. "Good night," she added softly.

"Good night."

_

* * *

_

Celaene couldn't believe what had just happened. Snape had been the vampire. She'd already had him and she hadn't known it. With a sigh, she returned to her tower. Perhaps that would count and then they'd be done. Perhaps she wouldn't have to bother with this dare anymore. Perhaps…

Sinistra fell asleep without bothering to undress.

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Well, this story is certainly going to take a few more chapters than I had planned...! Hope you liked it! 


	7. In Which the Dare is Accomplished

I'm so, so, so sorry it took so long, but I've been busy with exams and studying for exams. (But there's really no excuse for this taking so long.) I'm so sorry...! But I hope you like the ending.**

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**

**In Which the Dare is Accomplished**

"Celaene, dear, you have nearly run out of time," Victoria sang as she swooped into the Great Hall the next morning for breakfast. "One more night to have Snape or Dumbledore finds out…"

Sinistra grunted and went back to her cereal. "Don't remind me."

"Perhaps tonight will be the night," said Victoria conversationally. "What with the party and all…"

"Party?" Celaene jumped and looked at her friend in mild panic. "What are you talking about?"

Vector raised her eyebrows. "The New Year's Eve party. Remember? It's December 31, remember, dear? Dancing, drinking, having fun before the students get back… And having fun includes having—"

"Victoria!"

"Sorry… Well, I have to go out and get new dress robes. You need some?"

"No, I'll just wear the black and purple."

"Again…?"

"I _like_ them," Celaene insisted.

"I think Snape likes them too. Fortunately," said a new voice behind them. Minerva took her seat and reached for a plate of bagels.

"Shut up," Celaene mumbled, and walked quickly out of the hall, leaving her breakfast on the table. On the way out the door, she bumped into a tall, thin figure in black. "Sorry, Severus," she said in a rush, and ducked around him to run up to her tower, leaving Snape staring after her with a raised eyebrow.

Sinistra really didn't know what had just come over her. All she knew was that if she didn't get him soon with his consent, she'd be in prison for rape.

The day passed in a slow, dreary stream of books and lesson plans until seven thirty when Victoria Vector walked in and told Celaene that she had better get a move on or she'd have to go to the party naked. "Which I'm sure Snape would—"

Celaene cursed her friend out the door.

She grabbed her dress robes—black with vertical purple streaks from her waist to the floor—and threw them over her head, pausing only to drag a hairbrush through her straight, long black hair and pull on a pair of shoes. The heels were a mistake and she crashed down the stairs, so it was understandable that, by the time she made it down to the Great Hall for the New Year's Eve party, she was in a very bad mood.

Snape greeted her just beyond the doorway, nodding slightly to her as he picked up a glass of deep red wine. Sinistra walked up to him and, without saying a word, took the glass from him, and drank it all in one swallow before handing the empty goblet back to him. She grimaced. "What _is_ this?"

"Wine and firewhiskey. Now, thank you for stealing my drink. I'll have to go find another one." He bowed ironically and swept away to the other side of the room. The music started a few minutes later, beginning with a slow waltz. Without thinking much about it, Celaene crossed the hall after Snape. "Want to dance?" she asked.

"You're drunk already?"

"I'm serious, Severus. Dance with me."

"Alright," he said, surprising her by putting down his glass and pulling her by her waist towards him and grabbing her right hand. He was very close to her… She could have looked up and kissed him. She could have put her head on his shoulder. She could have told him then but she didn't. Instead, she waited for the song to end. Then she walked away, through the door, and waited for him to follow. She knew he would. She could feel him behind her. She began to go up the marble staircase towards her tower, but he caught her hand and pulled her back and they switched roles. Severus walked confidently through the entrance hall towards the dungeons and she knew she'd follow him even if she didn't want to.

"Where are we going?"

"You aren't stupid, Sinistra, no matter how much it may seem like it."

"I hate you."

"No, you don't."

"No, I don't," she mumbled. "That's what I hate."

A moment later—minutes later—maybe just seconds, Sinistra couldn't tell—Snape was standing across from her, his bed between them. He had his back to her and he was taking his robes off. When he turned around, Celaene found that she couldn't move, couldn't even stop looking at him. He smirked.

"Celaene, no matter how lovely they look on you, those robes will have to come off. I trust you know how this works?"

"Of course," she snapped. "I'm not a child."

"Clearly," he murmured as she removed the black clothes and tossed them aside. "Come here, Celaene," he told her, only to find that she was already there and it was he who was losing himself.

**Epilogue**

"So, Celaene," said Minerva the next morning. "Do I have to tell Albus anything for you, or did you finally go through with the dare?"

"None of your business," she muttered sleepily.

"Is that a 'yes'?" asked Sprout.

"It's a 'none of your goddamned business', Pomona!" she snapped.

Victoria tried next. "You know you have to tell us everything, don't you?"

"I don't have to tell you a fucking thing."

"Where's Snape?" asked McGonagall.

"He's still in bed," said Celaene before she thought about what she was saying. "I think I really—" She shut up quickly but knew she'd given it away. "Oh, shit. No more questions or I'll curse you all."

Dumbledore drifted by a moment later, greeting his staff. "Ah, hello, Sinistra. I've been meaning to have a word with you about a certain incident in Hogsmeade with a vampire, but I keep forgetting."

Celaene's mouth dropped open and she whipped around to look at her friends. They all looked shocked. McGonagall recovered first: "You know about that?"

"Hmm? Oh, yes, Minerva," he said pleasantly. "Known for months…"

That evening, Celaene was curled up in an armchair by Severus's bed, watching him read his potions book when he closed it suddenly and asked, "I heard about Dumbledore finding out about Hogsmeade. So you did all that work for nothing, Sinistra. I'm sorry."

"Not for nothing," she said sleepily. "I won. I consider it a great personal triumph that I managed to seduce a man who was trying that hard to resist it."

Severus pulled out his wand. Celaene ducked, but Snape never missed. Ever.


End file.
